What characterizes minified code?

Minified code is characterized by the removal of all unnecessary characters from the source code without changing its functionality. This includes eliminating whitespace, comments, and often shortening variable names. As a result, minified code is indeed more difficult to read and understand, making it less accessible for developers who need to interpret or modify the code.

Minification is primarily meant for optimizing web performance, as it reduces the file size and allows for faster loading times. Developers typically work with the unminified version during development and only deploy the minified version for production environments. The other options do not accurately describe minified code; for instance, it does not retain original formatting or extensive documentation. Instead, it sacrifices these aspects to enhance performance rather than readability.